Memorable Alessandro Michele Moments
Alessandro Michele has always been one to subvert the expected. However, once he gained more power in the fashion world as Gucci’s lead creative director, he caused seismic changes to the way we, as consumers, perceive fashion in all its glamour and glory.
Join us as we revisit Michele’s most memorable moments as Gucci’s creative director.
Headless Designs
Only Alessandro Michele could make severed heads high fashion.
For the Fall/Winter 2018 season, Michele made replicas of selected model’s heads to carry as accessories down the runway. While other models held baby dragons in their arms as they walked down the catwalk turned into an operating room. In fact, Michele collaborated with Italian special effects studio Makinarium to make the fantasy as real as possible.
He explained that these post-humans were the metaphor for how we construct our identities today, and how we can expose, hide or transform ourselves through social media, fashion and cosmetic surgery.
Gucci Off The Grid Collection
We all know that the fashion world is one of the biggest contributors to world pollution. This is why so many top luxury brands are now reconsidering the ethical and sustainable implications caused by the industry.
Since Alessandro Michele has been appointed as Gucci’s creative director, the luxury label has been making positive changes that contribute to the industry’s responsibility towards the environment, celebrating mankind and innovation. Gucci’s 10-year plan includes ethical practices and sustainable products along with other positive social transformations such as gender diversity and fair working environments.
In 2020, Michele presented Gucci’s first-ever eco-friendly collection. The ‘Gucci Off The Grid’ collection uses recycled, organic, bio-based and other sustainably sourced materials.
Alluring Androgyny
Alessandro Michele is well known for his vibrant and androgynous style that embodies both his personal style and his work for the luxury house. In fact, his very first collection, the Fall/Winter 2015 men’s collection features whimsical and gender-neutral items like pussy-bow blouses and GG Gucci belts.
Additionally, Michele styles celebrities in androgynous garb quite often. For instance, he has dressed Jared Leto in a gown and Harry Styles in pearls and pumps for the 2019 Met Gala.
The New Fashion Calendar
With sustainability and the pandemic in mind, Michele decreased the number of runway shows from five presentations a year to two seasonless ones. What’s more, to stay true to his newfound androgynous energy, Michele put an end to separate collections for men and women and combines them into one.
However, the decision to break away from dated runway schedules are rooted in concerns over the label’s environmental impact. In a series of diary entries titled ‘Notes from the Silence’ posted to Gucci’s Instagram account, he states, “Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in,” reads one of the diary entries. “We conceived of ourselves as separated from nature, we felt cunning and almighty. We usurped nature, we dominated and wounded it.”
The Gucci Beloved Collection
Earlier this year, Alessandro honoured four of Gucci’s most iconic handbags with a makeover. The Dionysus, GG Marmont, Gucci Horsebit 1955 and Jackie 1961 were each subjected to a revamp campaign called the ‘Beloved’ collection.
“I truly love and adore my handbags,” Michele states. “Perhaps they will always be my greatest love, my favourite accessory. It was, therefore, natural for me to call some of the ones I created ‘Beloved’. The name comes from my own personal experience and my love for them.”
However, it was the Gucci marketing campaign that was memorable. In his campaign, Michele presents a late-night talk show called the ‘Gucci Beloved Show’, hosted by James Corden. This talk show simulation places the signature handbag lines in the spotlight. Additionally, the House favourites were all worn by famous Hollywood stars such as Awkwafina, Dakota Johnson, Diane Keaton, Sienna Miller, Harry Styles, and Serena Williams.
“We went back in time to the original TV talk shows, where the protagonist is the bag itself, the big star.” Explained Michele. “Very often these creations are named after influential women who conditioned the habits and customs of many. It is precisely because they have great personalities that in the industry we gave them these powerful names; and now we have them in a show (and we are) twisted with the idea that there (are) two stars: the bag and the actual talent. A game of cross-references between the two great protagonists.”
Alessandro Michele Backstage Runway
Known for being unconventional, Michele’s Fall/Winter 2020 runway was as unexpected as expected.
To reduce unnecessary wastage, Michele invited guests via a voice note on Whatsapp. What’s more, guests entered the show through the hair and makeup room, a scene usually saved for models, team and press with backstage access. Thereafter, the show started with a pink curtain dropping to reveal a rotating room where models were changing into their looks with 360-degree views.
Runway Protests
Another memorable Michele moment occurred during the Gucci spring/summer collection of 2020. The show opened with a series of models pulled on a conveyor belt wearing a high fashion take on straitjackets.
However, model Ayesha Tan Jones stole the show. Finding it offensive and insensitive to glamourize the issue, Tan Jones made her personal protest by writing in the palm of her hands “Mental health is not fashion”.
Michele explained that the uniformity of the garb allows the individual to be anonymous. This particular collection models freedom and individual expression and is intended to encourage reflection on uniformity, without trivialising mental health illnesses.
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